The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1887-09-08

1
Total. ........... SO,S>O ~
Total of this amt collected by
Sheriff. ................... oS "a
Subtract this 1924 from the total de-
linqnenCy and we have a net loss to the
county. less officers commissions. of 81,
S7720.
This is rather q bad showing OF
itself, but now we propose to show
what it has cost the county 10 col
lcct the little that the Sheriff has
reported collected. The Legislature
of 1884 (see Acts of 1884, chapter
3rd) in order TO secure the more
faithful collection of delinquent
taxes throughout the State, passed
n law requiring sheriffs to make out
lists Of the delinquent taxpayers in
alphabetical order by Supervisors
districts and present them to the
Board Of Supervisors, who should
cause to be prepared delinquent
stub receipt books. These receipts
were to be filled out by the clerk of
The Board from the delinquent lists
and turned over to the sheriff and q
memorandum of each receipt issued
kept by the clerk on the stub.
These delinquent tax receipts are
then to be turned over to the Sheriff
by the clerk for collection, charged
mp to him, and his receipt taken i.
For this extra service the clerk may
I've allowed by the Board the sum of
$500 for each delinquent list thus
prepared. Now on this score, the
account stands against the sheriff g
neglect and inef1iciency thus:
Cost to county for delinquent tax
receipt books. ................. go W
Amt paid clerk for making ont de-
linQuent list for 1894. .......... rs 20
Amt paid clerk for making out de-
linquent list for le-5. 10 10
Amt paid clerk for making ont de-
linquent list for 1855. ........ IS %
OIal -. Z. gov w
Total amt coll cited by sheriff on
these receipts. '.'.........''.... 81 10
Now subtract the amount col
lected from the expense incurred in
furnishing him the lists for the
three years since the new law was
passed and we have a net loss to the
county on this score lone of $2l2.-
IS. In other words, the books to
date show that the county has paid
out $4,000 of good money on an
uncertainty and gotten back for il
1918.
But this is not all. The act
of the Legislature above referred to
makes the sheriff liable on his
official bond for all the delinquent
tax receipts issued to him. He is
required on the first day of every
December to make statement I'M
der oath to the Chancery Clerk of
all collections of delinquent taxes
and of all uncollected receipts in his
hands, when he Is credited with all
collections and the unc0llected re
ceipts returned to him again and
his receipt taken therefor. The
receipts issued for 1886 will not
have to he accounted for until the
first of next December, but how
does the account stand with refer
cnce 10 the receipts for 1884 and
1885? The Chancery Clerks books
show that the sheriff has never re-
ported q cent on the delinquents for
1855, ard never returned on the first
of last December the receipts for
either that year or 1884, as the law
required. This leaves the sheriff
liable on his bond as follows:
To delinquent receipts for 1884,
redelivercd by clerk and
never accounted for since. 81 ,209 II
To delinquent receipts for 1885,
never accounted tor. ......... 994 90
Total. Observation-Disclosures. ,2O3. IL
The sheriff must either account
for the receipts to this amount or the
money they represent, and the
Board of Supervisors are to blame
for not having already instituted
suit on his bond, for the law made
it their duty to do so 'at once
when he failed to render an account
last December. If he can produce
the receipts the fact still remains
that the sheriff has been unfaithtul
in the collection of taxes. and has
not complied with the law in max
ing the necessary returns.
We could point to other instances
wherein our sheriff has not proven
himself model official, such as bis
failure every year since his incum
bency to publish complete list Of
delinquent lands prior to the first
Monday in March, thus necessitatine
q second publication and delay
in his final settlements, the using O
the patronage of his office to collect
his private debts, ETC., but this il
quite enough to satisfy all reason
able persons for the present.
We wish to add in conclusion tina
in exposing these weak places in tn,
sheriff"s record, we are not actuatet
by a personal preference for any
other man, but we do it because b.
ia 3 candidate tor reelection aud WI
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